Frozen desserts are typically dispensed from bulk containers in so-called "scoops" which are then placed in the open ends of edible cone-shaped containers more typically referred to as "dessert cones". These dessert cones are typically supplied to points of retail sales (e.g., frozen dessert parlors, vendors, restaurants, etcetera) in a stacked configuration--that is, with the cone handles being nested within the interior of a subjacent cone. The bottommost dessert cones in the stack are then usually manually grasped by the handle and removed from the stack when a frozen dessert order has been placed.
The dessert cones are, of course, grasped by their handles when the frozen dessert order is being filled by the retailer, as well as during consumption of the frozen dessert by the customer. In addition, it may be necessary for the dessert cone to be placed temporarily in a holding device prior to sale, for example, to allow the retailer to fill other orders and/or to allow the retailer and the customer to exchange money in payment for the frozen desserts. Therefore, it is and has been desirable to provide a jacket on the exterior of the cone handle so that direct contact with the cone itself is avoided thereby providing a measure of sanitary protection. The jacket may then be removed by the customer as the frozen dessert and cone are consumed.
Sanitary jackets for frozen dessert cones are, in and of themselves, well known. However, one problem associated with sanitary jackets is that they may prematurely and/or inadvertently be removed from the cone handle which defeats their intended purpose of providing sanitary protection during the dispensation and consumption of the frozen dessert. Several proposals have therefore been made to ensure that the sanitary jackets remain in place on the cone handle until they are intentionally removed. In this connection, ribs and/or gripping claws have been formed on the sanitary jackets so as to increase the friction fit with the exterior surface of the cone handle, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,800 issued to Christner et al. In addition, potable "adhesive" solutions have been applied to the interior sanitary jacket surfaces and/or the exterior handle surfaces of frozen dessert cones so as to ensure that a tight-fitting relationship exists between the sanitary jacket and the cone handle, as evidenced, for example, by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,289,791, 4,313,965 and 4,529,470, each being issued to Weinstein.
As can be appreciated, these prior art proposals necessarily increase the complexity of the processing and/or packaging environment since either especially configured sanitary jackets (e.g., with ribs and/or gripping claws) must be employed, and/or a process step (e.g., application of a potable "adhesive") in addition to the step of mating the jacket to the cone handle must be performed. On a mass production scale, these added complexities can significantly affect the production costs. Perhaps more importantly, however, none of the prior art proposals have truly been satisfactory on a large-scale commercial basis. This is especially true with so-called "flat-bottom" cones which have posed particular problems to cone manufacturers due to the presence of a bottom wall on the cone handle which tends to cause air to be trapped between it and the bottom jacket wall thereby, in turn, preventing a "snug" fit between the jacket and cone handle. It is towards eliminating the problems associated with prior proposals for jacketed cones and fulfilling needs in this art that the present invention is directed.
According to the present invention, novel jacketed frozen dessert cones are provided along with equally novel apparatus and methods of making the same. The frozen dessert cones of this invention are formed of an edible cooked batter capable of having lower and higher moisture contents which respectively causes the cone to assume dimensionally contracted and expanded states. A sanitary jacket which is preferably formed of food-grade paper (but also could be formed of aluminum foil or self-supporting plastics film material or the like) is preapplied to the handle of the cone while it is in its dimensionally contracted state. The jacket will thus relatively easily slip onto the cone handle with a slight clearance space therebetween. This clearance space is especially important when the invention is embodied in jacketed flat-bottom cones, as it provides a convenient vent path which precludes air from being trapped between the jacket and the cone.
The contracted dimension of the cooked batter is typically at a minimum upon being discharged from the cooking oven. That is, due to the elevated temperatures employed in the cooking oven, the moisture content of the cones will be at (or at least very close to) a minimum when the cones are discharged from the oven after the cooking cycle has been completed. The cones will similarly be at an elevated temperature when discharged from the cooking oven and will be allowed to thereafter cool to ambient conditions. The sanitary jackets are, according to the present invention, placed upon the cone handles (either manually or, more preferably, by automated apparatus according to another aspect of this invention to be described below) when the cooked batter is in its dimensionally contracted state.
The cooked batter forming the cones will naturally regain from the ambient environment some of the moisture that was lost during the cooking process and, as a result, will dimensionally expand. Since the sanitary jackets had been preapplied to the cone handles while in a dimensionally contracted state, this dimensional expansion will result in a disappearance of the small clearance space between the jacket and the cone handle that had existed previously. In addition, dimensional expansion of the cone will cause a substantially uniform radially outwardly directed pressure to be exerted against the side walls of the sanitary jacket. The radial pressure that is exerted by means of the cooled and dimensionally expanded cone will thereby maintain the jacket in a tight, non-slip fit with the cone handle without necessarily providing the jacket with a potable "adhesive" and/or gripping claws.
The sanitary jackets during production are removed one-by-one from a supply stack (e.g., by suitable stripping mechanisms) and are directed by means of a chute towards the interior handle cavity of an awaiting cone. The sanitary jackets are then forcibly discharged from the chute (e.g., by means of pressurized air) so as to be seated reliably within the interior handle cavity of the awaiting cone. When the handle of the next upstream cone is stacked (mated) within the interior handle cavity of the relatively adjacent downstream cone in which the jacket has been placed, the jacket will necessarily be seated onto the exterior handle portion of the upstream cone (i.e., since a slight clearance space between the jacket and the exterior cone handle is provided when the cones are in a dimensionally contracted state as briefly described above). Thus, upon cooling and regaining moisture content, the cone will dimensionally expand as briefly described above so that when the upstream and downstream cones are separated, the jacket will remain on the handle of the upstream cone. The process according to the present invention is thus conducive to automated placement of the jackets in a production line in which the cones are presented sequentially to a jacketing station in an in-line manner.
Further advantages and aspects of this invention will become more clear after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments.